Title:	MASTERBLIND - TESTING THE USABILITY OF AUDITORY FEEDBACK IN A COMPUTER GAME FOR BLIND PEOPLE
Author(s):	Ana Rita Teixeira, Ana Carvalhal, Filipe Abrantes, Vladimiro Lourenço, Anabela Gomes, João Orvalho
ISBN:	978-989-8533-52-4
Editors:	Katherine Blashki and Yingcai Xiao
Year:	2016
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	User Experience Design; User and Cognitive models; Interface Design Games/Play
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	110
Last Page:	116
Language:	English
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Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	The present study presents an adaptation of the Mastermind board game for blind users - Masterblind. Given the focus on visual information in the original game, the game mechanics were simplified and auditory feedback introduced. The research object was to understand what kind of sounds would work better to help blind people play the game. Three versions were presented to the subjects - pentatonic notes, animal sounds and vowels - to help users recall previous steps in the game. The main hypothesis predicted that blind users would consciously benefit from the auditory feedback provided. The second hypothesis predicted that users would benefit less from the feedback that doesn’t provide semantic information. The results were congruent with the hypothesis, although revealing an important role for spatial awareness. Masterblind can be an usable, enjoyable and a challenging experience for blind users as long as it provides semantically significant feedback.
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